Cabinet approves Amendment of in the Customs and Excise Act, relating to abolition of cesses and surcharges on various goods and services to facilitate implementation of GST Regime

Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals:

i.Amendment to the Customs Act, 1962;

ii.Amendments to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975;

iii.Amendment to the Central Excise Act, 1944;

iv.Repeal of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985; and

v.Amendment or repeal of the provisions relating to Acts under which cesses are levied.

The above proposals will result in the following benefits:

i.Insertion of Sections 108A and 108B in the Customs Act, 1962 seeks to provide for furnishing of information relating to import/export of goods by specified persons to enable analysis and detection of cases of unter/over-valuation in imports and exports, misuse of export promotion schemes including the Drawback Scheme and violations of the provisions of the Customs Act and various other laws under which Customs officials have been authorized to effectively implement these laws; and

ii.Amendments or repeal of various provisions of other Acts which will no longer be relevant consequent upon roll out of GST will result in cleansing of the irrelevant portions from the Statute Book and reduce multiplicity of taxes.

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Cabinet22-March, 2017 20:57 IST

Cabinet approves Amendment of in the Customs and Excise Act, relating to abolition of cesses and surcharges on various goods and services to facilitate implementation of GST Regime

Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals:

i.Amendment to the Customs Act, 1962;

ii.Amendments to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975;

iii.Amendment to the Central Excise Act, 1944;

iv.Repeal of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985; and

v.Amendment or repeal of the provisions relating to Acts under which cesses are levied.

The above proposals will result in the following benefits:

i.Insertion of Sections 108A and 108B in the Customs Act, 1962 seeks to provide for furnishing of information relating to import/export of goods by specified persons to enable analysis and detection of cases of unter/over-valuation in imports and exports, misuse of export promotion schemes including the Drawback Scheme and violations of the provisions of the Customs Act and various other laws under which Customs officials have been authorized to effectively implement these laws; and

ii.Amendments or repeal of various provisions of other Acts which will no longer be relevant consequent upon roll out of GST will result in cleansing of the irrelevant portions from the Statute Book and reduce multiplicity of taxes.

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Cabinet22-March, 2017 20:49 IST

Cabinet approves proposal for Amendments to the NABARD Act, 1981

Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals:

(a)Amendments to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981 as proposed in the draft Bill with such changes of drafting and of consequential nature, as may be considered necessary by Legislative Department. The Amendments, include provisions that enable Central Government to increase the authorized capital of NABARD from Rs. 5,000 crore to Rs. 30,000 crore and to increase it beyond Rs. 30,000 crore in consultation with RBI, as deemed necessary from time to time.

(b)Transfer of 0.4 per cent. equity of RBI in NABARD amounting to Rs. 20 crores to the Government of India.

The proposed amendments in NABARD Act, include, certain other amendments including changes in long title and certain Sections to bring Medium Enterprises and Handlooms in NABARD’s mandate.

The proposed increase in the authorized capital would enable NABARD to respond to the commitments it has undertaken, particularly in respect of the Long Term Irrigation Fund and the recent Cabinet decision regarding on-lending to cooperative banks. Further, it will enable NABARD to augment its business and enhance its activities which would facilitate promotion of integrated rural development and securing prosperity of rural areas including generation of more employment.

The transfer of entire shareholding in NABARD held by RBI to the Central Government will remove the conflict in RBI's role as banking regulator and shareholder in NABARD.

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Cabinet22-March, 2017 20:33 IST

Cabinet approves MoU between India and the USA on cooperation in the field of Cyber Security

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-ln) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the US Homeland Security Department on cooperation in the field of Cyber Security. The MOU was signed on 11th January 2017 in New Delhi.

The MoU intends to promote closer co-operation and exchange of information pertaining to the Cyber Security in accordance with the relevant laws, rules and regulations and on the basis of equality, reCciprocity and mutual benefit.

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Cabinet22-March, 2017 20:32 IST

Cabinet approves in situ promotion to the officers of Indian Trade Service (ITS) to the Senior Administrative Grade (SAG)

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved in- situ promotion of officers of the Indian Trade Service (ITS), belonging to 1989 to 1991 batches, to the Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) level, on personal basis, as a onetime relaxation, with the condition that, as and when vacancies at SAG arise on the cadre post, these officers would be adjusted against the vacant cadre posts and the posts held by these officers at present, would be retained at the original level of Junior Administrative Grade (JAG), after their retirement or being covered against the original sanctioned strength of SAG.

This approval would enable the Government to retain and gainfully utilize these senior ITS officers, with significant domain knowledge, in various positions in the areas of trade promotion and trade defense to help in achieving the objective of accelerated growth of India's export sector. Grant of promotion to SAG level will also enable these officers to be considered for empanelment under the Central Staffing Scheme and add to the pool of officers available for serving the Government of India under the said scheme in different Ministries/ Departments of the Government of India. Indian Trade Service was created as a Central Group 'A' Service to cater to the growing need of an organized cadre to handle various aspects of India's international trade and trade promotion.

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Cabinet22-March, 2017 20:32 IST

Cabinet approves in situ promotion to the officers of Indian Trade Service (ITS) to the Senior Administrative Grade (SAG)

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved in- situ promotion of officers of the Indian Trade Service (ITS), belonging to 1989 to 1991 batches, to the Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) level, on personal basis, as a onetime relaxation, with the condition that, as and when vacancies at SAG arise on the cadre post, these officers would be adjusted against the vacant cadre posts and the posts held by these officers at present, would be retained at the original level of Junior Administrative Grade (JAG), after their retirement or being covered against the original sanctioned strength of SAG.

This approval would enable the Government to retain and gainfully utilize these senior ITS officers, with significant domain knowledge, in various positions in the areas of trade promotion and trade defense to help in achieving the objective of accelerated growth of India's export sector. Grant of promotion to SAG level will also enable these officers to be considered for empanelment under the Central Staffing Scheme and add to the pool of officers available for serving the Government of India under the said scheme in different Ministries/ Departments of the Government of India. Indian Trade Service was created as a Central Group 'A' Service to cater to the growing need of an organized cadre to handle various aspects of India's international trade and trade promotion.

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Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)22-March, 2017 20:42 IST

Cabinet approves Policy for the Grant of Extension to the Production Sharing Contracts signed by Government of India awarding Pre-NELP Exploration Blocks

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved a policy for grant of extension to the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) signed by Government of India awarding Pre-NELP Exploration Blocks to enable and facilitate investment to extract the remaining reserves.

This policy will enable the contractors to extract not only the remaining reserves but also plan to extract additional reserves by implementing new technologies. In certain fields, additional recovery of hydrocarbons can be obtained through Enhanced Oil Recovery / Improved Oil Recovery (EOR/IOR) Projects and as such the production would extend beyond the current duration of PSC. In the year 2016-17 (upto Feb., 2017), the production from these oil & gas blocks, allotted in Pre- NELP regime, is around 55 million barrel of oil and 965 MMSCM of natural gas. The recoverable reserve from these blocks is estimated to be more than 426 million barrel of oil equivalent. During the extension period, contractors are expected to make an additional investment of more than USD 5430 million.

The policy will give boost to accelerate and supplement indigenous production of hydrocarbon from existing blocks and act as a progressive step towards achieving the target of 10% reduction in import of crude oil by 2022. Among others, it includes oil and gas blocks in the State of Rajasthan that account for about half of the country's onland production of crude oil. Extension of these oil blocks will be major stepping stone in sustaining and enhancing onland production.

The Government share of Profit Petroleum during the extended period of contract would be 10% higher for these fields, thus bringing additional revenues to Government.

In addition, the policy brings out detailed guidelines regarding grant of extension, criterion for evaluation of request, time frame for consideration of request, duration of extension etc. The extension of these contracts is expected to bring extra investments in the fields and would generate both direct and indirect employment. The policy aims at bringing out clear terms of extension in fair and transparent manner so that the resources can be expeditiously exploited in the interest of energy security of the country besides improving the investment climate.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved fresh estimates of the project Deepening and Widening of Mumbai Harbour Channel and JN Port Channel (Phase-II). The cost of the project will be Rs.2029 crore excluding the Service Tax. The entire project cost will be funded through internal resources of JN Port Trust (JNPT) with market borrowing, if necessary.

The project includes the existing channel to be widened from presently 370 m to 450 m for straight reach, channel to be extended from existing 33.5 Kms to 35.5 Kms. The draft of the channel will be increased from existing 14 m draft to 15 m draft. The estimated quantity to be dredged to the tune of 35.03 million cu.mtr. including 1.73 million cu.mtr. rock dredging.

The work is likely to be implemented by inviting global tenders and to be completed within 2 years after its award.

The present total capacity of the JNPT for container handling is 5 million TEUs (Twenty feet Equivalent Unit). After the 4th Terminal becomes operational, this capacity will be enhanced to 9.8 million TEUs. Considering the expansion of the container vessel sizes on the main trade routes, it is anticipated that vessels of more than 8,000-12,000 TEU size will call the JN Port.

After completion, JNPT will attain capacity for handling additional traffic throughput of 1.67 million TEUs. The enhanced capability would help in handling larger vessels upto 12,500 TEUs besides economic benefits like saving in Vessel waiting time and savings on account of transshipment. The ultimate benefit to users will be in terms of lower unit cost, direct and indirect tax benefits in addition to reduction in vessel traffic congestion at JNPT. This would add to the competitiveness of India’s EXIM trade.

Background:

Over the years, the size of container ships is progressively becoming larger as it is much more economical to operate large ships and the cost of operation gets cheaper as much as by 40% for the larger ships. With increase in container cargo volume and increase in capacity of container carrying vessels fleet worldwide, JN Port has decided to handle new generation container vessels with wider beam and deeper drafts. The new generation bigger size vessels need deeper channel depth to navigate and accordingly deepening and widening of the channel further from 14.0 to 15.0 m draft with vessel capacity of 12,500 TEU is envisaged.

At present, JN Port is handling vessels having a draft of 14 m that is 6,000 TEUs capacity by taking advantage of tidal window.

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Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)22-March, 2017 20:40 IST

Cabinet approves North East Road Network Connectivity Project Phase I

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for development of 403 kms of National Highways in Meghalaya and Mizoram. Out of 403 km, approximately 52 kms will be in Meghalaya and 351 km in Mizoram. The project will be executed in EPC Mode.

The estimated cost is Rs 6,721 crore including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and other pre-construction activities.

The projects will be taken up for implementation during the financial year 2017-18. The civil works are expected to be completed by 2021 and maintenance works are expected to be completed by 2025.

The projects will encourage sub-regional socio-economic development by improvement of infrastructure in Meghalaya and Mizoram. It will also enhance the connectivity with inter-state roads and International Borders.

The work for development to two lane standards are under scheme "North East Road Network Connectivity Project Phase I" with loan assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Background:

The existing carriageway of all the stretches is varying between Single lane to Intermediate lane. The condition of the pavement is very poor and at some locations not in traffic worthy condition. In addition, the stretches are also in poor condition in the landslides areas / sinking zone. Updation and development of these stretches to the two lane with paved shoulders standard will be done.

All Office assets of CHBL/ICBL have been disposed of. No manpower exits on the rolls of CHBL/ICBL. There is no financial outgo from Government of India and lands have been returned to CREDA. All liabilities have also been settled. Closure of CHBL and ICBL would result in saving unfruitful expenditure on statutory compliance.

Background:

Joint Ventures (JV) between CREDA HPCL Biofuel Ltd (CHBL) and IndianOil-CREDA Biofuels Limited (ICBL) were formed for carrying out energy crop (Jatropha) plantation and production of bio-diesel in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The CREDA, an arm of Chhattisgarh, had provided wasteland to CHBL and ICBL through Land Use Agreement for plantation of Jatropha. Due to various constraints such as very poor seed yield, limited availability of wasteland, high plantation maintenance cost etc. the project became unviable and Jatropha plantation activities were discontinued.

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Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)22-March, 2017 20:39 IST

Cabinet approves hike in MSP for Copra for 2017 season

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of "Milling Copra" to Rs.6500/- per quintal for 2017 season from Rs. 5950/-per quintal in 2016. The MSP for FAQ of "Ball Copra" has been increased to Rs.6785/- per quintal for 2017 season from Rs. 6240/- per quintal in 2016.

The MSP of Copra is expected to ensure appropriate minimum prices to the farmers and step up investment in Coconut cultivation and thereby production and productivity in the country.

The approval is based on recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). CACP, which is an expert body, takes into account the cost of production, trends in the domestic and international prices of edible oils, overall demand and supply of copra and coconut oil, cost of processing of copra into coconut oil and the likely impact of the recommended MSPs on consumers, while recommending the MSPs.

The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India Limited (NCCF) would continue to act as Central Nodal Agencies to undertake price support operations at the Minimum Support Prices in the Coconut growing states.